Okay. Let me see if I can accurately summarize this book. The Woman in the Library is a book by Sulari Gentill about an author named Hannah Tigone who is writing a new mystery novel. Hannah sends each of the chapters she writes to a penpal named Leo for feedback. Each chapter of The Woman in the Library is a fictional chapter in Hannah’s book followed by feedback and notes from Leo. The fictional book that Hannah is writing is about an author who was awarded a grant to travel to Boston to write her next novel. You still with me? The structure of this book is trippy.
The first half of the book is totally fine. Nothing bad, nothing fantastic. And then there is a twist about halfway through the book regarding Leo and Hannah’s relationship that came totally out of left field that absolutely works and totally changes the entire book. It is wild! I can’t say more because Idon’t want to give anything away. Additionally, the plot of the fictional mystery novel that Hannah is writing is also well plotted with interesting twists and developments. The rest of the novel was a labyrinth of twists and turns. I was kept totally off-kilter, but everything paid off by the end.
In addition to the wild plot, the characters in The Woman in the Library and in the fictional book are phenomenal. Leo, in particular, was incredibly well developed even though we only got a little bit of insight from him as a person from his feedback to Hannah. What he revealed little by little built so much tension for the rest of the book.
CBR Passport Challenge #4 – new to you authors
